Fresh was the UK's first dedicated regional programme set up in the North East in 2005 to tackle the worst rates of smoking related illness and death in England.
Smoking is our biggest avoidable killer - more than alcohol, accidents, suicide, illegal drugs and diabetes combined and a massive drain on the NHS and economy. The source of this is the tobacco industry which sells and promotes an addictive product.
Fresh works with the regional media to ensure that the benefits of quitting, the harm of smoking, and tobacco issues are kept in the public eye all year round.
If you are a professional in the North East working in the field of tobacco prevention please join our Tobacco Control Alliances section on the Knowledge Hub
If you are interested in work around illegal tobacco visit
EFFORTS in the North East to nearly half smoking have been praised in Parliament by the Public Health Minister Steve Brine and Shadow Public Health Minister Sharon Hodgson.
With just a week to go until No Smoking Day on Wednesday 14 March, Fresh is encouraging smokers to give quitting another go – and try to quit at least once a year until you stop for good.
Fresh has welcomed a new report on e-cigarettes, produced by independent experts for Public Health England, which confirms that vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking.
A NORTH East doctor and Fresh were in Parliament today at the launch of a new call for the NHS to do more to help prevent hospital admissions and deaths from smoking.
New figures released in time for New Year reveal the shocking toll smoking causes on health and the NHS, with 104 patients admitted every day and over 38,000 a year to North East hospitals as a result of smoking-related illnesses.